Nonreturn device



May 2, 1934. 1 R G MARR 1,959,763

NONRETURN DEVICE Filed NOV. 27, 1931 ABti Patented May 22, 1934 UNITED STATES Nonna'romv nevica Philip George Marr, Walton-on-Thnmes, 'Enllnnd Application November 27, 1931, Serial lgso'l'l This invention relates to a non-return device of the type comprising a barrel that is open at one' or both ends and contains a non-return plunger f the kind having one or more parts, such as teeth, for engaging withthe internal periphery of the barrel and preventing movement of the plunger `in the barrel in one direction, but not in the other. When the barrel constitutes the body portion lof a case or container it is adapted to o hold an articleqfor .instance a stick of shaving soap or the ,like resting on or against the plunger. Thus ii the case or container is used for receiving a. shaving stick, as the top end of the shaving stick becomes worn down by ordinaryuse, the ,5 plunger may be pushed forward from the rear to expose a fresh length of shaving stick above the top rim of the barrel.

This invention has for one of its objects to provide an improved construction of 'device of. zo the type referred to wherein the plunger is prevented from overturning or rocking out of its nor .mal positionv even when severe pressure is applied toit either forwardly or rearwardly at one point on its periphery. Another object is to pros vide an improved construction of plunger which can serveas a seal for containers and sliding bolts. According to' the invention, there is provided a non-return plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a. rearwardly-extending peripheral wall constituting a skit vcarried thereby, a transverse leaf spring that is unattached to said end wall and has one or both of its ends extending through an aperture or apertures in lthe ski/rt, and means supportingsaid spring near its ends so as to cause it to'be ilexed rearwardly while permitting it freedom. of bending movement along its entire length. As compared with non-return plungers of constructions known heretofore, the improved plunger according to the invention results in in-.

creased emciency vin upward movement, resistance to reverse pressure, and non-tilting combined with compactness, and is also suitable for f use in tubes composed oi various materials and having a smooth bore. Also, a wide range of choice of materials is available for the body of the plunger. Moreoven the improved construction, besides providing for anti-tilting has the great` advantage of compactness, the spring lying mainly within the body bf the plunger. Further,

owing to the iloating arrangement of the spring, the plunger can be fed forwards very smoothly and evenly, without jerks, which is important when it is desired to eject quite small quantities of material. e. g. pasteur cosmetics, from a con- .ya tainer equipped with the plunger.

scribed hereinafter.

Great Britain January 5, 1 10 Claims. (Cl. 20G-56) 4According to' a feature of theinvention, the leafspring in the plunger, may be supported in a rearwardly flexed condition by end portions of the spring bearing on marginal portions of the apertures. lBy altering the length of the spring at 60 the shoulders or by altering the position on depth of the slots receiving the ends of the spring, the middle of the spring can be caused to bear againstl or be spaced from the end wall of the plunger to any desired distance, thus providing various deasf grecs of strength of running and resistance to reverse pressure.

The leaf spring composed of steel may have serrated ends, and the marginal portions of apertures in the skirt of the plunger for receiving the mf serrated ends may have lugs, against whichthe ends of the spring bear. l s

Other features ofv the invention will be de scribed hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

Several embodiments of the invention are di- 7g' agrammatically illustrated by way of example inl the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section showing oneform of barrel for use with a non-return device according to the invention,

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing one form of non-return plunger for insertion therein,

.Figure 3 is a bottom plan view thereof, Y

Figure 4 is a perspective view o. another form of plunger, Figure 5 is a bottom plan view thereof after the removal of an end cap,\and Figure il is a .perspective view of the said cap when re= moved. I

Like reference characters designate like parts -throughout the several views.

' Referring to the drawing, the barrel 3o shown in Figure l is intended to receive a stiel?. of shajvJ ing soap and carries a cover in the form oi a slip-on cap .31, is open at the lower end 32 and at its upper end 33 and is adapted to receive in its lower end 32 any ci the non-return plungers de-s Such a plunger, when inserted into the barrel, engages with the internal periphery of the barrel and can be moved up-1 wards to propel. a stick of shaving soap forgy wards, but resistsmovement downwards. j

Referring to Figures 2 and 3, a plunger 5@ comprises an A inverted sheet-metai cup-shaped body portion having a at end wall 35 and an an= nular skirt 36 extending rearwardly from the latter.' At .opposite ends of a diameter the rear end of this s rt has formed in it two slots 51 erre ,tending along the skirt. Longitudinal marginal portions of each of these slots are inturned to provide four inwardly-directed lugs 52. A leai u@ of steel, having sharp teeth 55 at both ends has portions of its ends cut away *whereby the spring is .held in the body portion' taken up, and the middle into contact .with the middle of the inner face of the end wall, without appreciablyaltering the pressure is applied. In thls construction the endwise cuts forming the slo-ts constitute slits which lie between ,the

The plunger 60 shown in Figures 4, 5, and 6 comprises a slotted body portion 35, 36 similar to that described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, but diilers therefrom in that no lugs 52 are provided at the sides of the slots 51. In this construction shoulders 56 formed at the ends of thel spring 54 bear against the internalperiphery of the skirt 36 at the ends 61 of the slots 51, and the spring 54 is retained in position in the body portion by a. cap 62 shown in Figure 6. This cap has an annular peripheral wall 63 having at opposite ends of a diameter two slots 64 whereof the walls are recessed to provide a narrower end portion 65 in each slot. Between' the two portions of each slot two shoulders 66 (which may be desired) are thus formed which bear on the ends of the cross spring 54 at opposite sides thereof and retain the latter in position when the free edge 67 of the annular Wall 63 bears against the inner face of the end wall 35 of the body portion of the plunger. In some cases the narrow portion 65 of the slot can be dispensed with. 'Also the. cap 62 may be arranged to slide externally on the body portion ofthe plunger, instead of into the same. -Also, in some cases, the cross spring 54 shown in Figures 2 and 3 and in Figures 4, 5, and 6 may extend through holes or perforations in the plunger, instead of through slots therein. When the plunger 60 is assembled the cap 62 may be secured in position on the body portion by dents or solder holding the two parts together. When the plungers 50 and 60 are to be used in a barrel whereof the bore is not truly cylindrical but tapers slightly, the skirt 36 may have exible lugs at opposite ends of a diameter that lies at right angles to the cross-spring 54 for preventing rocking of the plunger in the wider end of the barrel.

Various constructions of barrel may be employed. When it has a smooth bore,'.as shown in Figure 1, it may be composed of a material, for example metal (such as brass or aluminium) celluloid, papier-mch, phenolic 'condensation product, waxed .cardboard or the like, softer than the material, for example steel,I of which the projections aforesaid, such as teeth 55, are composed,

The invention is also applicable to cases or holders for sticks of shaving soap and the like of the type usually known as holder-top cases or holders comprising two parts, whereof one is a soholder-top having a tubular portion for carrying the contents of the case, and the second is a cover detachably carried thereby.

The invention may be appliedto sealing a tubular outlet of a container against its being opened downwards.

Also, the invention may be applied to sealing a sliding bolt. For example, when a barrel open Although a multiplicity of teeth is shown in the plungers illustrated in Figures 2, 3 and 4, the number thereof may be reduced to as few as one, in some cases. Also, in some cases, the ends of the cross spring 54 need not be serrated.

Various modifications may be made in the details of construction described above without departing 'from the invention. For example, in some cases the end face 35 of afplunger may have parts thereof removed in order to increase the flexibility of the skirt.

Also, the end wall 35 may carry means for receiving the (e. g. screw-threaded) end of a shaving stick or an'attachment carried by the latter. Moreover, the skirt 36 of a plunger may be split in the. direction of creased resilience.l

I claim: l 1

1. A non-return plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a rearwardly-extending peripheral-wall constituting a skirt carried thereby, a transverse leaf spring that is unattached to said end wall and has its ends extending through apertures in the skirt at opposite sides thereof. and means supporting said spring near its ends so as to cause it to be flexed rearwardly while permitting it freedom of bending movement along its entire length. v

2. A non-return plunger comprising al front transverse end wall, a peripheral skirt extending rearwardly therefrom and having two apertures at. opposite ends of aA diameter thereof, a leaf spring having its ends extending through said apertures,v which spring is free from said end wall andis supported in rearwardly exed condi cannot rock or overturn when presiit iso

'its

flexed condition by 'shouldered end portions bearing on marginal portions of the apertures.

4. A non-return plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a peripheral skirt extending rearwardly. therefrom and having two apertures at opposite ends of a diameter thereof, marginal portions of which apertures are inturned to form lugs, a leaf spring wall and extends through said apertures, the ends of which spring are cut away to form shoulders arranged to hear, against said lugs, and hold the spring in a rearwardly flexed condition.

5. A non-return plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a peripheral skirt extending rearwardly therefrom and having two apertures at opposite ends of a diameterthereof, a leaf spring having its ends extending through said apertures, and a cap on the rear e'nd of the skirt.

6. A non-return plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a peripheral skirt extending rearwardly therefrom and having two apertures at opposite ends of -a diameter thereof, a leaf spring having its ends extending through said aperture, and a cap that is carried by the skirt 1 at its rear end and is arranged to engage the springandretain it in position in the plunger.

7. A non-retum plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a peripheral skirt extending rearwardly therefrom and having two apertures at opposite ends of a diameter thereof, a

cap carried bythe skirt at its rear end and having at opposite ends of a diameter two apertures-registering each with one of the apertures in the skirt, and a leaf spring extending through the apertures in the skirt and cap and retained in position in the plunger by the cap.

8. A non-return plunger having a body comprising a fronttransverse end wall, and a rearthat is free from the said end wardly-directed peripheral wall constituting a skirt that extends from the end wall and provides a cavity at the rear of the same, which body is so dimensioned as to external diameter and length as to make substantially anti-tilting fit with abarrel to contain it, and a transverse leaf spring, that is unattached to said end wall and has at least one end extending through an aperture in the skirt at a situation spaced away from the end wall, and means supporting said spring near one end at an aperture so as to cause it to be, flexed rearwardly while permitting it freedom of bending movement along its entire length.

9. A non-return plunger having a body comprising a front transverse end wall, anda rear wardly-directed peripheral wall constituting a skirt that extends from the end wall and provides a cavity at the rear of `the same, which body is so dimensioned as to external diameter and length as to make substantially anti-tilting fit with a barrel to contain it, which skirt has an aperture in it at a situation spaced away from the end wall, and a leaf spring whereof one end portion extends through said aperture, and another portion of the spring bears against said end wall, which 100 .spring is supported in rearwardly-exed condition by said end portion bearing on marginal portions of said aperture.

10. A non-return plunger comprising a front transverse end wall, a peripheral skirt extending rearwardly therefrom and having apertures at opposite Vsides thereof, and a rearwardly flexed leaf spring that is spaced away from said end wall extending through said lapertures and supported near its ends so as to permit it freedom of bending no movement along its entire length.

PHILIP GEORGE MARR. 

